March 15, 2000
New children's museum still seeking home
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
The Great Lakes Children's Museum is a project whose time has come.
Without a home, staff or even many exhibits, the founders of the Great Lakes Children's Museum take the long view and forge on. Started from scratch two years ago and spearheaded by a cadre of devoted volunteers, the museum is taking shape step by step.
Co-founders Cara Colburn and Pam McGraw were introduced to each other just before the 1998 Association of Children's Museums annual meeting that spring. Mere acquaintances but sharing a vision, they decided to go to the conference together as both had the same dream of bringing a children's museum to the Grand Traverse region.
"I had visited the Marquette Children's Museum with my family and I came back saying, 'I'm going to do this here,'" McGraw said. "Then two weeks later I met Cara and we were spurred to go find out more. Cara and I were complete strangers traveling in parallel universes. Since then we've met many people who have had the same idea."
The Great Lakes Children's museum just last week received its non-profit status, completing the first organizational steps. Board members' priorities now are to raise funds, find a permanent home and develop educational programs and a philosophy.
The board launched the Founder's Campaign in October and in four months has already reached nearly half of the $100,000 goal. Last Thursday, Colburn received a check for $250 from the Golden K Kiwanis Club and more donations continue to come in, both large and small.
"This museum fits with our club's theme of Young Children, Priority One," said Milt Jacobi, the program chairman for the Golden K Kiwanis Club. "We wanted to help them in their endeavors."
More than 150 volunteers, including 30 teens, are getting the word out about the museum, spreading the idea of a local, interactive museum that is a gathering place for children and families across the region. Booths at Friday Night Live last year and plans for more booths at area summer events this year, including Children's Day at the Cherry Festival, will raise awareness of and interest in the Great Lakes Children's Museum.
"We envision the museum having programs that come from across the community," said co-founder Cara Colburn, who serves on the board as director of education and noted that programs are geared to children from toddlers through ages 12.
"A children's museum becomes a hub of all the children's programming around the community, there is serendipity built into a children's museum."
Already fulfilling its founders' vision of serendipity, the museum now boasts a traveling exhibit - Stuffee, a nine-foot tall stuffed anatomy lesson - and is co-sponsoring with Sun Radius International the "African Village." The "African Village" features Senegalese drummer Cheikh Thiam, who uses drums, dancing, storytelling and singing to teach children about the culture of Africa. Both programs are available to schools and groups around the museum's five-county region and give attendees a taste of the hands-on, interactive learning.
"We are also planning a Buck Wilder outdoors exhibit and a river exhibit," Colburn said. "Our theme for the museum is water, celebrating water and children. Ultimately these two things are our future."
One of the board's main missions is to search for a permanent home. With a goal of opening the museum by 2004, board members are meeting with area civic officials to discuss the best place to locate the projected 20,000 square foot museum. While many children's museums start with a donated building and are used as an anchor to revitalize an aging downtown, the Great Lakes Children's Museum faces different circumstances in the Grand Traverse region.
Population fluctuations during the year because of tourism are another challenge for museum founders, but they are looking at meeting both summer visitors' and winter residents' demand.
"We need the tourism market but we really want to be an organization that caters to our five counties," McGraw said. "We plan to have a large rotation of exhibits so locals will see new things and come back regularly."